El Perro Negro

Grumpy old mountain man living in Spain

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Since Dec 2022 we have been running our own Mastodon & GoToSocial servers. What a breath of fresh air the Fediverse has been. We have made many hundreds of new friends from around the world, mostly related to our mountain, tech and nature interests.

Connect with me/us on the Fediverse at:

Camp erected ready for the night. Beyond are the snows of the Sierra Nevada. Hoping we get a good sunset and sunrise.

With @chriswright @khusky @chriswright

A pink tent with a Samaya logo on lies on a flat grass surface. Beyond are snow covered mountains

Heading up into the Sierra Nevada this afternoon for an impromptu wild camp. Second time out for the very lightweight (but expensive!) Samaya tent.

Hopefully I will be able to capture a nice sunset and sunrise over the high mountains. We shall see.

Río Bacal, Jayena - Sendero de los Arrieros - Mirador de la Encina - Poza del Romance

Brilliant hiking route over some new ground for me/us. Incredible that so much varied and interesting walking terrain is available within an hours drive of home near Granada. Must have done over 100 routes so far.

Here's some photos from the "non-river" part of yesterday trip (see previous post)

A track leads off into the distance with some snow covered mountains beyond

A group of hikers ascends a path amongst shrub land. In the distance the snow covered mountains of the Sierra Nevada

A man stands with his dog next to a tree. In the distance rise some mountain and hills

3 people walk through some lovely woodland scenery with green grasses and pine trees

Spring is in the air and so starts our Andalucia river walking season. Yesterday, we found a 6 km long stretch of river, a bit overgrown after the winter, but full of color, challenges and interest. Glorious scenery with 20+ enforced crossings of the river with rock pools galore to cool off in. A fabulous day!

A person swims in a turquoise rock pool with steep rock on either side. Beyond is a small waterfall

A group of hikers cross a small river using stepping stones

A group of hikers walk along a faint track on the left hand side of a small river. The area is covered in green trees and shrub

A person jumps across a small stream hoping not to get his feet wet! Two other stand watching with anticipation!

Wonderful circular hike today starting at the Collado del Muerto above Monachil (Granada) and taking in Cerro de Cuesta Bermejo and the Rio Monachil. Lovely mix of valleys and mountainsides and at every turn backed by the snow covered Sierra Nevada and Cumbres Verdes mountains.

A group of hikers walks along a broad path. Lots of greenery to the right. At the back rise the snow covered Sierra Nevada mountains of Spain

A forest track leads into some woods. At the back rise the snow covered Sierra Nevada mountains of Spain

Beautiful green alpine meadows with a track running through them into the distance. Behind rise a series of interesting mountains covered by snow

A group of hikers walks along a broad path. Lots of greenery to the right. At the back rise the snow covered Sierra Nevada mountains of Spain

BREAKING NEWS: The clock in my car now shows the correct time 🤣

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Came across an old castle today. The "Castillo de los Moros"at Restabal (Lecrin Valley) is almost certainly from the Nasrid dynasty & built between the 13th & 14th Centuries.

May have been part of a military reinforcement program carried out in the kingdom of Granada during the time of Yusuf I and his son Muhammad V and it probably had the task of controlling the surrounding farmsteads and the channels of the three main rivers that run through the region.

History comes alive!

A man stands above some ancient arabic castle ruins

Some people stand above some ancient castle ruins built by the moors

Fortune definitely favors the brave. Our hiking group (and a local Restabal dog called Tom!) turned out this morning on a cold, gray, drizzly morning in the hope of better weather later in the day.

We did a short, but interesting, walk from Restabal taking in the Ermita de la Virgen del Cerro, the Barranco de Mizán & the Castillo de los Moros. Only got rained on for 5 minutes were even accompanied by some sunshine & blue skies for the 2nd half of the walk.

A group of hikers pass along a road bordered by olive trees. Above some blue sky and white clouds

A group of hikers stand on a wet platform in damp conditions. Behind are villages and a mountainside blanketed by fresh snow

"Tom" a friendly local dog from Restabal who decided to come with us today and accompanied us throughout our hike.

A person stands above some ancient ruins of an arab castle

Although I've been using linux and hosting websites on external servers for many years I'm a late comer to the home server network. Probably a good solution for storing and backup of images amongst many other things. My Synology NAS drive arrives in the next few days and I then can start "messing" :sablobsmilehappy: Any starter tips?

From this mornings dog walk. Instead of the views from snow capped mountains down to the sparkling Mediterranean Sea, today we have the skies of southern Spain affected by the latest Sahara Dust storm (Calima).

Out of the grey gloom a spanish town on a hill on the right hand side. To the left are green fields and some steep rocky crags

Tofu jerky. Tofu marinated overnight in soy sauce and water with some liquid smoke sauce. Then dried with our dehydrator and vacuum sealed. Very tasty hill snacks. Will have a regular presence in my backpack.

Thanks for the idea and inspiration @jds and @HikerGeek

Rows of brown dehydrated and marinated tofu awaiting vacuum sealing.

Been a busy couple of days working on the land. My neighbour, Antonio, has been helping us install a piped irrigation system. Will save us much manual effort this spring and summer as well as being much more efficient at distributing the available water.

A line of olive trees stands on a grassy terrace. A black pipe connects to all the trees

I'm enjoying using Cube Trek to display my hikes and activities. Free and open source. I find it a more useful record of my mountain activities than my Coros Watch dashboard which seems too runner/health orientated for me personally.

I particularly like the 3D Replay, Trek Mapper and the "Best Of" sections.

Worth a look for hikers, backpackers and mountain goers

https://cubetrek.com/

Great to have friends in New Zealand as cant get in Spain

Product Description (Macpac website) ...

"Ideal for any pursuit that requires a lightweight, breathable layer for protection. Think mountaineering, multi-sport racing, trail running, and thru-hiking. "

Can we add ... "also good for older guys with dodgy knees who have to reduce pack weights" 🤣 Only 148 grams 😱

https://www.macpac.co.nz/macpac-mens-nitro-fleece-pullover/115606.html

A blue/green coloured fleece hoody pullover with a pocket labeled "Macac" on the right side

I'm feeling very blessed as it's my 5th Heart Attack Anniversary. How time flies. At one time I never would have thought I'd be back enjoying the hills and mountains that have been my life since the age of 15. Many heart felt (joke!) thanks to all those who have supported and looked over me. You know who you are x

A man in a white t-shirt and blue trousers in stood in snowshoes on a white snow slope. Some trees in the upper right.

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@[email protected] not sure this will help you. Photo of inside of bag at zip end. The finish is completely covered by waterproof seam. Good luck with this project, I wish I was talented enough to make my own gear

e700c46012afae0f

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